Himanshu Roy was cured, didn't kill himself because of cancer says doctor

May 12, 2018, 18:00 IST | Vinod Kumar Menon and Anurag Kamble

Oncologist treating Himanshu Roy says 12 days ago, the senior IPS officer was happy over 12 days ago after knowing no traces of the cancer were left in his body

A picture taken in 2007 shows the fitness freak that Roy was

Cancer was not the reason behind top cop Himanshu Roy's suicide, the oncologist treating him told mid-day. Nashik-based Dr Raj Nagarkar said no cancerous traces were found in his body after a PET scan on April 30.

Dr Nargarkar said, "It will be wrong to say Roy committed suicide because of cancer. He was cured of the disease. It is a loss to the police force and to us, as we all worked very closely and were even satisfied with the results."

Recalling Roy's battle with the disease, Dr Nagarkar said, "In February 2016, when Roy developed bone cancer and soft tissues all over his body, we carried out extensive tests on him to understand the what kind of drug would work. We suggested targeted therapy in form of tablets and injections, which he was put on by a team of doctors in Pune and Mumbai." Roy was initially diagnosed with 44 tumours in his body, according to Dr Nagarkar.

Dr Raj Nagarkar

Was extremely happyRoy was suffering from an advance stage of cancer and had undergone treatment in the United States and Portugal, and the results were encouraging. "Roy was on suggestive targeted therapy. On April 30, we conducted a PET scan on him and were quite pleased to see that the medicines had done wonders and all the soft tissues and cancer were almost missing from the scan. He was extremely happy after knowing that. In fact, he asked us when he can rejoin duty. We told him we are reducing his medication and will keep eye on his development.," the doctor said.

Dr Nagarkar added, "I spoke to him just three weeks ago, and he was very keen to address an open forum of cancer patients. He wanted to tell them cancer is curable and they should not give up on treatment. Though it is a fact that cancer patients develop suicidal tendencies during the course of their treatment, but with proper motivation and counselling, they do well."

Weakness and depressionAccording to Dr. Nagarkar, Roy first developed cancer in his kidneys in 2000, "He underwent extensive chemotherapy and surgery and succeeded in removing those tumours from his kidneys. He joined the force after that."

"On Friday afternoon, I got a message about his suicide. I was shattered; I couldn't believe he did it. Roy was extremely passionate about his physique and exercising. He was getting frustrated as he was away from his office and uniform. Weakness and depression must have broken him from within. I don't think he did because he was suffering from cancer," emphasised Dr. Nagarkar.